Petitions of the day

Docket: 11-1263Issue(s): (1) Whether, when the State of Washington asserts that a general disclaimer prevents voter perceptions that candidates are associated with the party that the candidate “prefers,” it bears the burden of showing the risk of forced association is in fact reduced to a constitutionally acceptable level; (2) whether the principles articulated by federal courts evaluating trademark misuse claims should be applied by analogy in evaluating the likelihood of voter confusion under “top two” systems, in which the candidate for office may choose to appear on the ballot in conjunction with a political party’s name without the party’s consent; and (3) if Washington’s partisan top two system as implemented need not pass strict scrutiny, whether it nevertheless fails to qualify as a reasonable and politically neutral regulation that advances an important state interest.

Certiorari stage documents:

Libertarian Party of Washington State v. Washington State Grange

Docket: 11-1266Issue(s): (1) Whether, by denying minor parties, including the Libertarian Party, virtually all access to the general election ballot, Washington’s Initiative I-872 -- which provides that the top two votegetters for each office advance to the general election -- violates the constitutional rights of minor parties and voters; (2) whether, by denying the Libertarian Party the right to disavow false candidacies or to acknowledge its nominee on the ballot or in any official publication, I-872 – which provides that candidates for office shall be identified on the ballot by their self-designated “party preference” -- violates the associational rights of the Libertarian Party; (3) whether, by denying the Libertarian Party the right to disavow false candidacies or to acknowledge its nominee on the ballot or in any official publication, I-872 denies the Libertarian Party trademark protection guaranteed by federal law; and (4) whether the unauthorized use of the trademarked name “Libertarian Party” by the State on election ballots to indicate “party preference” of unaffiliated candidates constitutes competition with the Libertarian Party in violation of the Lanham Act?

Aug. 2015

In a conversation with Bill Kristol of The Weekly Standard, Justice Samuel Alito reflects upon (among other things) his arrival on the Court, recent First Amendment cases, the themes in his dissent in Obergefell v. Hodges, and his love for baseball.